Nov 21 2008
A Tale of Two Smoking Bans
A tale of two smoking bans. This from the Muscatine Journal:
Compliance with the state’s public smoking ban forced Wilton bar owner Brian Froehlich to lay off all his employees and run his establishment single-handedly for about two weeks, Froehlich said during testimony at a hearing on Thursday.
Froehlich’s establishment, Fro’s Pub ’n Grub, could lose its liquor license for alleged smoking ban violations after the Iowa Attorney General’s Office filed a complaint in August that law enforcement officials had observed patrons smoking in the bar and the presence of ashtrays on tables.
Froehlich said during the hearing at the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division that his business went into a freefall after he started telling customers to go outside to smoke around Labor Day, which led to his decision on Nov. 3 to let go around a dozen employees and work almost around the clock by himself to keep the business running. He said he started to allow patrons to smoke in the bar after dismissing his employees because he claimed the intent of the ban was to protect workers from secondhand smoke.
“I have no employees to protect. I’m exempt,” he said during his testimony.
Judge Margaret LaMarche says that she would have a ruling within 30 days after written arguments are presented in December.
Froehlich is among several plaintiffs seeking to overturn the public smoking ban on the grounds that it puts unconstitutional restrictions on business owners. No court date has been set for the lawsuit.
The smoking ban has been said to have hurt businesses that previously allowed smoking as well as bars that were already smoke free. Iowa Department of Revenues public information officer has said the ban appears to have no effect on cigarette sales and that the ban was intended to protect employees from second hand smoke, although he admits that there is no way to measure that impact. Of course, the former employees from shuttered businesses should feel very well protected from second hand smoke. The silver lining in this cloud is that those out of work will find a smoke free environment at the unemployment office as well.
The smoking ban has been a savior for one industry: casinos. According to the Las Vegas Review Journal smoking bans are hurting casino profits in Colorado and Illinois. But Iowa’s unexplainable casino exemption has insulated Iowa casinos from this trend. This makes the Iowa Smoke Free Air Act the biggest gift to Iowa casinos since the legislature pulled the rug from under the Iowa Lottery’s Touchplay program, a move that cost the state over $5 million in legal settlements in addition to the approximate $120 million annual revenue. Regardless of one’s stand on gambling in Iowa, the handling of the Touchplay program was an unmitigated disaster.
On a related note, Iowa’s First Lady, Mari Culver, has admitted violating the state clean air act by smoking in a state-owned vehicle while in the presence of a state trooper. According to the Register:
Culver’s admission came a day after a Des Moines Register reporter noticed her openly smoking in a Chevrolet Tahoe that the state provides to her family. The black sport-utility vehicle was stopped at a stoplight in downtown Des Moines about 8:45 a.m. Culver was sitting in the passenger seat with the window rolled down and a cigarette in her hand. A state trooper was driving. Numerous pedestrians and motorists passed by the scene.
No word yet on whether the first lady will be issued a $50 citation.
Update: $50 citation issued and paid on Friday according to Omaha World Herald.
